Author: admin

I’m so thrilled to have 6 of my latest floral oil paintings represented by the gorgeous Ainscough Contemporary Art Gallery in Dartmouth. It’s been quite a struggle to find new gallery representation so this opportunity has given me a real boost. And to have my work alongside some fantastic and well established artists is a wonderful thing!

It’s the 2nd time I’ve painted View of the Mount as I’d chopped up the original one and made it into cards. It was propped up in my studio and I was feeling scissor happy. I won’t be rushing to do this sort of thing again. However, I’m happier with the 2nd version.

A couple of months ago I discovered the technique of rug hooking. It’s an addictive process with the repetition of movement and hours can go by…

I’ve ended up creating a collection of vibrant cushions using pure wool and mixed yarns. My designs are based on past and present paintings. I love using colour and this gives me another way to experiment with different combinations.

Thanks to Instagram I’ve had a few sales!

 

For the last 9 days I’ve been participating in the Open Studios. This is around the 6th year that I’ve taken part. Artists throughout Cornwall open their doors and studios for visitors to browse and buy their creations.

Usually it’s quite a busy event but this year it’s been very quiet. Less visitors and sales….

Despite this I’ve met some lovely people. It’s particularly good to meet other creatives and talk about being in this unpredictable business.

I’m delighted to be showing 6 of my new paintings at Gallery Tresco from 19th May – 3rd July. My work has been represented at Gallery Tresco for over 10 years! This new collection of paintings has been inspired by my winter visit at the beginning of the year. Here they are and a couple from last year too. My favourite is Green and Blooms, inspired by the beautiful Abbey Gardens.

Lighthouse, oil on canvas

Spring Flowers, oil on canvas
Tideline and Islands,oil on canvas

Sea Grass and Shoreline, oil on canvas

Calm Day, oil on canvas

White Sands, Moody Sky,oil on canvas

Greens and Blooms, oil on canvas

At the beginning of this year I became temporarily addicted to knitting. After an emergency spinal operation in February it was an ideal way to be creative without jeopardising my recovery. I discovered the ideal website supplying kits and yarns for basic to advanced knitters. The brand is called weareknitters.co.uk and they have the most gorgeous yarns, needles and patterns.

Several of these kits later and I have created garments I can actually wear despite the odd slipped stitch, hole and occasional twist.

Here are my completed projects….

 

Another year has flown by and I’m now firmly ensconced in the 2016 Open Studios week. I’m participating for 6 days. Day 1 was yesterday and after a very slow start things picked up, thankfully. We had a total of 14 visitors!

My son, Rafferty has speedily created his own range of artworks with intriguing titles such as ‘Celtic Cross with Paw Print’ and my favourite, ‘Bob’s Dad’. I’m not sure who Bob’s Dad is.

Tess, my whippet is in a solid routine of sleeping on the sofa under her blanket until around 4 pm when she moves towards the front door and looks at her lead. She’s the perfect dog for the Open Studios as she’s and ardent sleeper.

Hopefully this year will be a real success. I’d love to sell a few originals, it’d be a real boost. I hope Raff sells well too….

 

I’ve painted snow scenes for many years for various galleries and card publishers and it’s something I’ve really enjoyed doing. There’s something about snow which is magical and romantic evoking a feeling of escapism and nostalgia. These pictures are very much sourced from my imagination which is an entirely different way of working from the usual sketches and photos taken from real life.

Here are a few. Some are recent and some are from the past….

Last week I had the joy of finally purchasing a glue gun. I’m not sure why it has taken me SO long to acquire one as it’s a vital piece of equipment.

I’ve been messing about with it in my new workroom. I love the unpredictable nature of the melted glue, the danger of burns and the satisfaction of sticking materials together in one easy go. I’m a complete novice and the glue has been getting everywhere but it’s very enjoyable.

In order to test drive the gun I collected paraphernalia found at home, on the beach, on the pavement and weirdly under the fridge. Here are the results- a miscellaneous collection of characters…..

When my son was a baby I taught myself to crochet granny squares. After a bit of trial and error I managed to master the technique and I was hooked! The repetitive action of moving the hook through the yarn was meditative and satisfying. Hours could be whiled away…

Initially I was aiming to make lots of little squares to form a blanket but the square I began with just grew and grew until it became a huge blanket for my bed. It consisted of 100% merino wool and was costly and heavy but perfect for a cold winter’s night. I’ve since made one for my sister’s baby, one for my son and others for pure joy and relaxation. There’s something so satisfying about seeing how the colours of the yarn interact and evolve.

Last summer I decided that I wanted a whippet. I’d had a whippety lurcher years ago (he often appears in my paintings) and I ‘d really loved him but he became very jealous when my son was born so sadly I’d had to re-home him. Now my son was older it felt like the right time to look into it. I think it’s important for kids to grow up with animals and learn how to treat and respect them. I signed up online to Just Whippets Rescue and began making a blanket for the whippet I was hoping would join our household, not knowing when this would occur. Each time I picked up my crochet I visualised having a female whippet, good with kids, house trained, easy going and around 4- 5 years old.

The VERY day that I finished the blanket I received a call from Just Whippets Rescue  – a 5 year old female whippet needed a new home and she was only 5 minutes walk away from our house! This was definitely fate. She matched my criteria exactly. We visited that evening and walked home with her, my son holding her on the lead. She settled in instantly and we feel as if we’ve always had her. She’s the most gorgeous little thing and spends many hours nestled right under her handmade blanket, snoozing the day away, just as I imagined she would.

For 23 years I’ve worked mainly in my kitchen, sitting room, attic room and when I first started out in my bedroom. I’ve never had a designated area solely for work- a space where I could close the door, leaving everything in situ ready for my next creative stint.

So, this year I finally decided to take action. I was sick of hauling equipment in and out of cupboards, cooking amongst paints and fabrics, eating supper with a sewing machine as a centre piece and using my bedroom as a place to store bubble wrapped paintings.

I’ve moved my son up to the attic room (with sea views) and I’ve transformed his old bedroom into my new space. It fits all my criteria, light, bright, enough room for storage, space for my sewing machine to be permanently poised for action and a separate table for designing and painting.

Here it is! And I love it.